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26th July 2021
03:55pm BST
"They might make a couple of changes," Greig Laidlaw mused.
"The [outside] centre position might be up for discussion. I thought Rory Sutherland did well [at loosehead] but Mako Vunipola did well, when he came on, so they might look at that." Laidlaw added:
"I'm not so sure how Dan Biggar, Robbie Henshaw [at 13] and Owen Farrell [at 12] would work. If they change anything, they might move Bundee Aki into 12 and move Henshaw out one. "Elliot Daly did some good things, and they seem to be a big fan of him, so I don't know. Potentially, that is something they may look at. In second-guessing South Africa, Damian De Allende is probably going to come down that channel a lot more, and be route one; simplify it. The Lions may look to combat that a little, and free up Henshaw a lot."[caption id="attachment_233090" align="aligncenter" width="2048"]
Robbie Henshaw on the charge against the Springboks. (Credit: Sportsfile)[/caption]
For Seán O'Brien, if Wales prop Wyn Jones is fit, he would give him the No.1 jersey, which was the original First Test plan before his shoulder flared up. He would go Vunipola on the bench and make the 'tough call' to drop Sutherland.
"Wyn Jones is just immovable," said O'Brien. "He might just steady up that Lions set-piece."The two-time Lions tourist believes the rest of the Lions pack will stay the same, and he backed Courtney Lawes to do a job again. As for the back three, Alex Goode wants Liam Williams in for Duhan van der Merwe on the left wing. Goode wants a scrumhalf change too: "It's not that Ali Price played badly," he reasoned, "it's just, Conor Murray brings that experience and physicality, especially if De Allende is coming down that 9/10 channel." The Saracens and England star was out-voted (two-to-one) by Laidlaw and O'Brien so Price stays in the House of Rugby Lions XV. Funnily enough, it is the same starting 15 as we selected on Sunday. O'Brien pointed out how crucial Murray and Farrell were in closing the game out, from the bench, and they provide another "incredible" option for Saturday's second tilt at the Boks.
15. Stuart Hogg 14. Anthony Watson 13. Robbie Henshaw 12. Bundee Aki 11. Liam Williams 10. Dan Biggar 9. Ali Price 1. Wyn Jones 2. Luke Cowan-Dickie 3. Tadhg Furlong 4. Alun Wyn Jones (c) 5. Maro Itoje 6. Courtney Lawes 7. Tom Curry 8. Jack Conan REPLACEMENTS: Ken Owens, Mako Vunipola, Kyle Sinckler, Tadhg Beirne, Hamish Watson, Conor Murray, Owen Farrell, Duhan van der Merwe.Following last week's team news leak, Warren Gatland will officially confirm his team at 10am on Tuesday.
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